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Elazığ

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Elazığ (Kurdish: Mezra) is a city in the Elazığ Province of eastern Turkey. It has a population of 266,495 (2000 census). The city is 1067 meters above sea level.

Contents

Name

The city was initially named "Mamüret'ül-Aziz" (Turkish: the city built by Aziz) after the Ottoman Sultan `Abdu'l-`Aziz. The city was known many years as "Elaziz" due to its ease of pronunciation until November 17,1937 when Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of modern Turkey, changed the name of the city to "Elazık" (city of food). However, since it was hard to pronounce this word in Turkish, on December 10, 1937 the government changed the city's name to its final form as "Elazığ".

History

The area near Elazığ has been settled for centuries. An ancient town and citadel called Kharput (or Harput; Armenian: Kharpert), which means "rocky fortress," was built by the first Armenian kings about three miles from modern Elazığ. However, there is very little written about this city. While Kharput is still settled today, due to its high elevation and lack of water, it is slowly abandoned, with most residents moving to Elazığ. The two cities are in constant communication and Kharput still has about 30,000 inhabitants.

Kharput probably stands on or near the site of Carcathio-certa in Sophene, reached by Corbulo in A.D. 65. The early Muslim geographers knew it as Hisn Ziyad, but the Armenian name was Khartabirt or Kharbirt, whence Kharput.

William of Tyre wrote that Joscelin I, Count of Edessa (Jocelyn) of Courtenay, and King Baldwin II of Jerusalem were prisoners of the Amir Balak in Kharput's castle and were murdered by being cast from its cliffs after an attempted rescue. However, the story is fiction, as both were prisoners but were ransomed. William of Tyre who calls the place Quart Piert or Pierre.

Contemporary Elazığ was founded in 1834.

An Armenian Uniat was diocese created in 1850.

The vilayet Kharput was founded in 1888, being the result of a provincial rearrangement, designed to ensure better control over the disturbed districts of Kurdistan. It has much mineral wealth, a healthy climate and a fertile soil.

Kharput has been an important station of the American missionaries for many years. The missionaries built a college, a theological seminary, and boys' and girls' schools. In November 1895, Kurds looted and burned the Armenian villages on the plain; and in the same month Kharput was attacked and the American schools were burned down. A large number of the Gregorian and Protestant Armenian clergy and people were massacred, and churches, monasteries and houses were looted.

Elazığ was also a scene of the Armenian Genocide in 1915.[The New York Times - "Turkish Region Recalls Massacre of Armenians", by Stephen Kinzer, May 10, 2000]

Elazığ today

Elazığ is the capital of the Elazığ province. The Armenian Catholic diocese numbers 3000 parishioners, 8 parishes, 6 churches, 3 chapels, 14 stations, and 14 primary schools, chiefly at Kharput-Mezré and Malatia. There are about 72,000 Christians throughout the vilayet, which contains about 600,000 inhabitants. The Armenian Protestants have a large American mission at Kharput, which is the headquarters of all those in Armenia.

Note: The above information is unlikely to be about Elazig today, seeing as all the Armenians of the area were deported in the Armenian Genocide of 1915. The churches and schools written about were destroyed and there would be no community left to fill the 8 parishes written about. Also there are no Armenian Protestants to speak of outside Istanbul, so the notion that they would have a large mission in Elazig is highly suspect. Seeing as Turkey blockades Armenia it would be impossible to have a headquarters for all of Armenia in a separate country that has no contact with it. This "Elazig today" section seems to be talking about a time pre-genocide.[[Citing sources citation needed]]

Geography and climate

Elazığ is situated on the northwest corner of a 30-mile-long valley, known locally as The Great Valley (Uluova). Its altitude is 3,300 feet: latitude and longitude are respectively: 38 degrees and 41 minutes North, and 39 degrees and 14 minutes East. Directly behind Greater Elazığ three miles to the north is the ancient Kharput citadel and town. Elazığ Province is surrounded by the Euphrates in the north, and after the completion of Keban Dam the rivers came to cover almost ten percent of the surface area (826 km²) of the province (8,455 km²).

Demographics

The population of Elazığ is a mixture of Kurds, Turks and Azeris.[Encyclopaedia of the Orient - Elazig]

Government

The current mayor is M. Süleyman Selmanoğlu (since April 28, 2004).

Economy

The main product of the area is wine and other agricultural produts, and Elazığ serves as a market center. The state run vineyard of Elazığ is notable for its production of Buzbağ, a full flavor red wine.

Notable people from Elazığ

Attractions

References

External links

The following websites are in Turkish. 
 Districts of Elazığ 






Elazığ | 
Ağın | 
Alacakaya |
Arıcak | 
Baskil | 
Karakoçan | 
Keban | 
Kovancılar | 
Maden | 
Palu |
Sivrice
























 




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